Building for Growth: New Compost Bins in Northern Haiti

Over the last year, SOIL has captured and safely treated 450 metric tons of waste that could have otherwise gone on to contaminate aquatic ecosystems and groundwater sources. The over 92 metric tons of compost produced during this time has instead been returned to the soil to restore ecosystems and improve agricultural livelihoods in northern Haiti. As SOIL works towards an ambitious expansion of the reach our household full-cycle sanitation service in the coming years, expanding infrastructure at SOIL’s composting treatment facilities helps us develop the capacity we need for this growth. And that’s just what we have been up to!

A New Composting Unit for SOIL in Northern Haiti

Early this spring, SOIL broke ground on the construction of a new compost unit and we’re pleased to share that the project is complete! The new composting unit includes compost bins where waste is treated, platforms for turning the compost, and protective roofing. What does this mean for SOIL? The new compost unit means that SOIL will be able to:

+ Provide safe sanitation services to 120 new households (that’s about 720 people)

+ Produce nearly 15 additional tons of compost annually

+ Save more than 125,000 gallons of water annually

The first batch of waste is well on its way through the treatment process in the new compost bins and after six to nine months, the waste will be fully transformed into agricultural-grade compost that will be sold to support environmental restoration, reforestation, and agricultural development.

It’s pretty isn’t it?

Growing Better

The new infrastructure at our treatment facility was modeled after an improved design we first tested out at SOIL’s composting site in Port-au-Prince in 2017. Since that time, SOIL has further invested in better purchasing and inventory practices and made improvements to the construction process. Thanks to this and a closer involvement of SOIL management in the direct supervision of the construction process, we were able to reduce direct costs by 23%.

Although our sanitation service is already one of the most cost-effective models for providing safe-sanitation globally, continued cost reductions are important for helping us create a service that can be rapidly scaled in the coming years.

Getting to Work to Expand our Reach

Following the completion of construction, SOIL’s sanitation teams have been on a roll installing new toilets in Cap-Haïtien (read about it here!) to ensure these bins are put to good use. We hope you will continue to follow along as we work to broaden the impact of our live-saving and regenerative sanitation services.

Many thanks to our friends at World Centric for providing the funding to support this construction and to SOIL’s individual donors and Cultivators whose support keeps SOIL rolling.

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